The Mother's Hands That Planted Regret
Gasp, gasp—
She was out of breath.
The sun was merciless, and grains of dirt dug beneath her fingernails. Weeds and stray stones kept springing up out of the soil, making every motion a struggle.
It had already been three hours since she began scooping out the earth bare-handed and planting seed potatoes, without a single moment of rest.
No proper tools, nothing—just her bare hands in this field. The high heels she wore every day for the sake of appearances were sunk deep into the dirt, and every time her ankle turned, she had to wrench her balance back by force.
Sweat streamed without pause. She felt sticky and grimy, her breath catching in her throat.
"Ugh……!"
Finally, her fingertip caught on a rock. A thin line of blood welled up.
Why on earth did she have to be out here doing this? She couldn't understand it—and yet her body, contrary to her thoughts, kept working away diligently.
This is all because of that weird kid!
Han Jung-hee glared, eyes blazing, at the young boy watching her from across the field.
Pfft—the boy smirked.
He makes me do all this and then laughs at me?!
She didn't want to do it. And yet she had to. For reasons she couldn't explain, it felt absolutely impossible not to work exactly as the boy had told her.
Plant the seed potatoes. Keep going, diligently.
"You're doing—very well."
To Han Jung-hee, even that perfectly pleasant voice sounded utterly sarcastic.
The Seoul kid who'd transferred into her son's class. Raised on city education, he'd no doubt come down to this sleepy countryside and flap around freely—our Dae-kyung's rival!
……Our Dae-kyung. Her son.
Lee Dae-kyung's mother, Han Jung-hee, clenched her fists.
Her son had always been her pride. The brightest child in the neighborhood, a brilliant prodigy. An intelligent boy who read adults' hearts as if they were open books.
Han Jung-hee loved him. She wanted him to become someone even better. Smarter—so that he'd never fall behind the kids in Seoul, so that he'd grow up magnificent.
She joined countless mom cafes and collected every scrap of information on child education. She could proudly call herself the most diligent mother of anyone.
At first, her son had kept up with her beautifully. He read and studied late into the night. He studied on holidays without rest. Even with no exams coming, he kept studying.
And then one day, he began to stutter.
"Mo, Mom. Do we re, really have to, have to do it like this……?"
Hunched shoulders, a bent back, darting eyes, trailing words.
That was not the posture her proud son should be wearing. But there was no mistaking it—the boy acting that way right in front of her was her son, Lee Dae-kyung.
Han Jung-hee despaired.
Why? Why? Why is this happening to me?
She had cheered him on and supported him harder than anyone, all so her son could succeed. So why did something so devastating have to happen to her?
Like this, she couldn't proudly show him off anywhere. She hated every word that came out of her son's mouth.
"If you're going to stutter like that, just talk less!"
"It's because you don't study enough. You're stuttering because your brain can't keep up."
Every time he heard those words from her, her son lowered his head further and spoke less. He grew more and more timid.
Even that attitude of Dae-kyung's still didn't sit right with Han Jung-hee. But a boy who'd matured early was better than one babbling away innocently like a fool who knew nothing.
……At least, that was what Han Jung-hee had thought.
"I think you're beginning to see that you were wrong."
Han Jung-hee surfaced from her thoughts and looked at the boy.
"You made my son do work like this?"
"Every time he saw a potato planted just right, he looked enormously proud of himself. Turns out he had a talent for it, in his own way."
It was a very, very small thing—but simply not giving up and seeing it through was proof enough of aptitude. The makings of an adult who could do anything.
At her words, the woman exploded.
"My son's talent is not some field work! My son's talent is something much—much bigger!!"
Bigger, and greater, and more. But just as she tried to say it, Han Jung-hee's mouth closed.
The boy's expression had softened, just a little.
"That's right. Your son has plenty of talent, and every chance to grow into a wonderful adult."
"……"
"Then why do you keep pushing him?"
Flinch.
Han Jung-hee's shoulders trembled.
Pushing? Me?
No. What she had done was support. She had only helped her son grow into someone more excellent…… hadn't she? Had she truly, purely only helped? Or had she wielded him toward the things she wanted to achieve?
"Your son is already trying his hardest. At maximum—or maybe he already tried even beyond that. Is stuttering really because Dae-kyung can't study? Did anyone ever actually diagnose that?"
No. It had all been nothing but her own assumption.
"You saw it on your way here, didn't you? Dae-kyung, smiling happily even drenched in sweat."
"……"
"Whether you push him or not, the work will get done. The best way is steady, unhurried effort—like what you've just done yourself."
◈ Clever Potato — 50%
◈ Clear Eye Carrot — 50%
I had never once ordered her to work faster. She had reached this point purely because her own hands refused to stop, even with every part of her wanting to quit.
"Get up and see for yourself. This is the work you finished."
Teetering, Han Jung-hee slipped off her high heels and rose from her spot. The feel of the soil against her bare feet was unfamiliar.
A light breeze blew. Before she knew it, the potato sprouts had begun growing into stems, and their leaves swayed in the wind. Right beside the spot where she'd just finished, there was already a potato plant bearing flower buds.
The very first one—the one Lee Dae-kyung had planted.
"Your son's potato is about to bloom. Beautiful, isn't it?"
"……This is what Dae-kyung planted?"
With trembling hands, Han Jung-hee stroked the flower bud.
……It was soft.
The blood smeared on the tip of her finger bled onto the bud. Startled, she snatched her hand away.
Cura Minima.
A minimal-area healing spell, usable even at the 2nd Circle. An injury sustained working in the field—this much, I could take care of.
Han Jung-hee's hand glowed brightly for a moment.
"……How?"
Her two hands, which had touched the flower for only a moment, shimmered with light—and like a miracle, the wound vanished.
She turned her hand over and over, examining the back of it in disbelief. The throbbing ache was simply gone, and her fingertips, ground rough and gravelly by the dirt, had returned soft and smooth.
"Am I… dreaming?"
The woman pinched her own cheek, staring at me. She looked startled, but she was far calmer than when she'd been ready to yank her teacher's hair out by the roots.
Time to get to the main subject, I supposed.
"Your wound healed right up."
"That's impossible."
"It was a small one, after all."
"……Was that you?"
"What, exactly?"
I played dumb. The woman seemed to find the question too ambiguous to press further, and fell silent.
I spoke to her.
"When every wound on the outside is healed, it stops hurting. But what about the heart?"
"?"
A look came back at me: what on earth is he getting at?
"The wounds you gave Dae-kyung."
"……"
"Those don't show on the surface. How do you plan to treat them?"
Han Jung-hee's mouth opened heavily.
"I only ever meant it for his own good……"
"And the standard for 'good'—that wasn't Dae-kyung's, was it."
Her lips quivered. Any other time, she would have shouted him down in rebuttal—but she couldn't now. Because to Han Jung-hee's own ears, the boy's words rang far too true.
[Title effect is now active.]
[Workers within the Mana Land are being persuaded by the Landowner's words.]
The title effect. Looking at the way the woman's eyes wavered, it really did seem to work.
She reached out again and brushed the flower bud where the blood had stained it. Fresh white petals showed through on the surface once more.
Whoosh—the wind picked up slightly.
Then, an unexpected notification appeared.
Ding—
[A person veiled in mana is experiencing a surge of emotion.]
[The crops growing in the Mana Land are being affected.]
[The crops toward which the person's feelings are directed have been designated.]
Special blooming is in progress.
Fwoosh—
The flower bloomed.
The burning colors of the sunset poured down over the opened petals. The white blossom blazed with brilliance.
"Good heavens…!"
The woman cried out in awe. Her mouth had fallen open on its own at the beautiful sight.
Same for me, honestly. Though for entirely different reasons.
[You have witnessed the first Special Bloom.]
[An unfamiliar phenomenon has manifested in the Mana Land.]
[The affected crop's growth is accelerating.]
◈ Clever Potato (50%): Harvestable (1 root) / Growing
◈ Clear Eye Carrot (50%): Growing
A potato that had matured in the blink of an eye. And I could harvest it right now?
I had no tools, but that was no problem. I hurried to the spot beneath the blooming flower.
The flower was turning yellow, slowly wilting away. I gently pushed the soil aside. The potatoes buried beneath were beginning to show themselves.
Just as the end of the root came into view, I pulled the stem up with a firm tug.
Rustle-rumble—
With the sound of dirt raining down, potatoes tumbled free in a cascade. Ten potatoes, each a touch larger than a fist—apparently the same number that grew on a single sweet potato root.
◈ Effect: Upon consumption, the eater becomes considerably wise.
Truly an ambiguous description. Not "smarter"—just wiser. Was I going to have to test this one out myself, too?
But there was something more important right now than a potato whose effects I couldn't yet know.
Sage's Mind (Lv.1)
— Grants a chance to grasp underlying principles through deep contemplation.
Grasping principles! For a mage, this was an absolutely essential ability—and one that was never easily gained. And it had manifested as a passive skill. An effect I'd never even dreamed of.
My mood lifted in an instant—so much so that even the woman staring bewildered at the potato root in my hand became something I could graciously tolerate!
Come to think of it, this was the potato Dae-kyung had planted during the demonstration. Well—I did help out a little. Hmm. This calls for a plan.
I broke off three potatoes from the root.
"There are three people in your family, right?"
I'd never heard that Dae-kyung had siblings, so it was probably correct.
"Y-yes, that's right, but…"
"Please, take these."
"??"
The woman accepted the potatoes half in a daze.
"Go home tonight and boil these up with your family—one potato per person."
"……Why are you giving me this?"
"You'll understand once you eat them."
If the "makes you wise" claim held even a measure of truth, she'd figure it out on her own—what to do for Dae-kyung, and for her family, from here on out.
Of course, I was planning to head home and boil some up myself tonight, too.
"Khh-hhh…"
Ah. I hadn't managed to hide that laugh.
"You should head home now. I'll be going as well."
"R-right."
I left the woman behind and headed for home. Were Dae-kyung and his teacher still at our place? I needed to send them both off quickly and get to eating that potato.
"I'm… I'm home."
When Lee Dae-kyung arrived at the house, a simple yet mouthwatering aroma filled every corner of it.
"There you are."
Jolt—Dae-kyung flinched instinctively, his whole body going stiff.
"Wash up, then come sit down."